The semiconductor industry is continuously moving toward the fabrication of smaller and more complex microelectronic components with higher performance. The production of smaller integrated circuits requires the development of smaller electronic components, and closer spacing of those electronic components. Electromagnetic interference can degrade the performance of electronic components that are spaced too close together, but electronic components can be positioned closer together without disruptive interference when separated by an insulating material with a low dielectric constant.
Many materials have low dielectric constants, but a vacuum has the lowest dielectric constant. Gases, such as air, have very low dielectric constants and the dielectric constant of air is nearly the same as that of a vacuum. For example, vacuum has a dielectric constant of 1, and air at about 1 atmosphere has a dielectric constant of less than about 1.01. However, air or other gases provide essentially no structural support, and this limits the use of air or other gases as dielectric materials in integrated circuits. Etches and other manufacturing processes used to produce air gaps in integrated circuits must access small spaces, and many etches can be destructive to electronic components adjacent to the gaps, such as interconnects. The limited space for air gaps makes protective barriers or other protective steps difficult to implement, so the components adjacent to the gaps are often sized larger to withstand some damage from etching during the production of the air gaps. However, the larger size of the components adjacent to the air gaps limits the ability to produce smaller and smaller integrated circuits. The destructive etch effects can also decrease reliability of the integrated circuit.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide integrated circuits and methods of producing integrated circuits with air gaps while minimizing the size of components adjacent to the air gaps. In addition, it is desirable to provide methods of production that utilize air gaps but still produce an integrated circuit with sufficient solid material for structural stability. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present embodiment will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.